The Riddle of the Birthday Non-Party

Chapter 1- The Shocker on the Calendar

Phil Eggtree was quite a clever student of Riddle School.  Not that he was clever enough to learn about torque in physics, but he did manage to escape the schools behind the teachers' backs.  At least in his dreams.  Well, he did escape other things outside of his dreams, but they weren't schools.  What matters is that he was intelligent at solving puzzles.

One day, he met up with his friends, Zack Kelvin, who used to be always cold but is now burning; Smiley Sundae, who curiously loves learning; and Phred Whistler, his closest friend.

"So... what are we gonna do?" asked Phil.

"I dunno," replied Smiley.  "Maybe we could go to the pool or the park to hang out..."

"But that won't mix well with my head," said Zack.

"Oh... right."

"Then what should we do?"

"Wait..." said Phred, "did anyone look at the date on the calendar?"

"Hm?" pondered Phil.  "What day is it today?"

"It's May 10... that's Greg's birthday!" responded Phred.

"Clever job knowing that," said Smiley, "I actually have a habit of getting birthdays mixed up.  Besides the fact that Riddle Transfer 2 came on May 24, 2016, the decennial anniversary of Riddle School."

"Well, if it's someone's birthday, I suppose we should set up for an event best we can," said Phil.  "We could get banners, party hats, decorations, really cool gifts, delicious cake..."

"Um, Phil?" said Zack.  "I... don't think those are for him."

"Pardon?"

"Have you forgotten?  Greg is always sleeping," said Zack, "at least as far as I know.  He won't wake up to enjoy all those cool things.  And he certainly won't wake up to the sound of anyone falling into lava."

"Oh, shoot..." replied Phil, "that is a caveat."

"How are we going to wish him a happy birthday if he won't be awake to hear it?" questioned Phred.

"I know!" said Smiley.  "Maybe we can look at the records of his past birthdays, seeing how they were spent.  Then we can try to make his birthday this year all similar.  How's that for a plan?"

"But where would there be records of his past birthdays?"

That was one thing which stumped the clever gang.  They've solved riddles, gotten across bosses, tricked many school principals, and yet, they never bothered to question how Greg normally spent his birthdays.  They didn't even know much about Mrs. Sleep, or the family.

Until... Smiley put it to some extra thought.

"How about," she proposed, "we go gather our sleeping bags from the unreleased Riddle School 4.7619, then we take them to Greg's house.  If all goes well, we'll be able to settle ourselves into sleep and join Greg in the dream universe on his birthday!"

"Sounds like a plan, Smiley!" replied Phred.  "As long as we sleep the same way Greg does, Riddle Transfer magic will enable us to connect with him.  Zack, just make sure your sleeping bag is fireproof."

"It sure is!" said Zack.

Thus the four friends gathered their materials to prepare for this dreamy expedition.  Phil remembered dealing with a lot of riddles while he and his friends were asleep in Vizion.  So he was ready... for anything... in a loose sense of the word.